Cellino & Barnes

Last updated

Cellino & Barnes
Cellinoanbarnespersonalinjuryattorneys.png
Headquarters Buffalo, New York
No. of offices6
Major practice areas Personal injury
Date foundedMay 6, 1998
FounderRoss Cellino Jr.
Steve Barnes
Company type Professional corporation
DissolvedJune 2020
Website https://www.cellinoandbarnes.com/

Cellino & Barnes was an American personal injury law firm based in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1998 by Ross Cellino Jr. and Steve Barnes, and dissolved in 2020 shortly before the death of the latter. The firm's status and high-profile dissolution inspired an off-Broadway play in 2024. [1]

History

Cellino & Barnes originated as Cellino & Likoudis in 1958, founded by Ross Cellino's father. [2] The firm had multiple offices in New York State in addition to a branch in Los Angeles, California. [3] In 2017, Cellino & Barnes had 50 attorneys and 250 employees in their offices. [4] The firm was well known nationally for their distinctive jingle, which became an internet meme. [5]

In 2007, the firm was investigated for a scheme involving advancing settlement proceeds to clients contravening the state attorney ethics code. [6] Cellino was issued a 6 month suspension from the practice of law and Barnes was issued a public censure. Cellino's suspension lasted a total of 19 months after undisclosed delays. [2] Upon his return, Cellino was not as involved in running the firm as before. [2] [6]

Cellino filed to dissolve the firm in 2017 citing Barnes's denial of an attorney position to Cellino’s daughter Jeanna. [2] The partners could not amicably dissolve the firm, leading to the appointment of a referee to make a binding decision in 2020. [6] Upon the final dissolution of the firm in June 2020, the two attorneys formed separate agencies: Cellino Law and the Barnes Firm. [2]

On October 2, 2020, Barnes and his niece Elizabeth were killed in the crash of a TBM 700 single-engine private airplane in Pembroke, Genesee County, New York. [7] [8] [9] He was 61 years old. Upon his death, Barnes' brother Rich Barnes took control of the Barnes Firm.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesee County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley". The county was created in 1802 and organized in 1803. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Niagara International Airport</span> Airport in New York state, United States

Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga, New York, United States. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York in the United States, and the southern Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. It is the third-busiest airport in the state of New York and the busiest inside of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. It is about 11 miles (18 km) east of Downtown Buffalo and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Toronto. The airport covers 1,000 acres (400 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Rochester International Airport</span> Domestic airport located in Rochester, New York, USA

Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is a public airport located within the City of Rochester, three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Downtown, in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is owned and operated by Monroe County. The airport is home to the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, part of the 42nd Infantry Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 5</span> State highway in New York, US

New York State Route 5 (NY 5) is a state highway that extends for 370.80 miles (596.74 km) across the state of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in the Chautauqua County town of Ripley and passes through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and several other smaller cities and communities on its way to downtown Albany in Albany County, where it terminates at U.S. Route 9 (US 9), here routed along the service roads for Interstate 787 (I-787). Prior to the construction of the New York State Thruway, it was one of two main east–west highways traversing upstate New York, the other being US 20. West of New York, the road continues as Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) to Erie.

The United States District Court for the Western District of New York is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the western parts of Upstate New York.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP was an American law firm based in New York City, with offices also in Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkland & Ellis</span> American law firm

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys. It was the first law firm in the world to reach US$7 billion in annual revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Department of Environmental Conservation</span> New Yorks state-level environmental regulator

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection of New York's natural resources; manages Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill parks, state forest lands, and wildlife management areas; regulates sport fishing, hunting and trapping; and enforces the state's environmental laws and regulations. Its regulations are compiled in Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. It was founded in 1970, replacing the Conservation Department, and is headed by Basil Seggos.

Lot Clark was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Wakeman</span> American politician (1811–1880)

Seth Wakeman was an American attorney and politician from Batavia, New York. Initially a Whig, and later a Republican, he was most notable for his service in the New York State Assembly from 1856 to 1857 and the United States House of Representatives from 1871 to 1873.

Thelen LLP, formerly known as Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner was a bicoastal American law firm formed by two mergers between California and New York–based law firms. The firm peaked at roughly 600 attorneys in 2006, and had 500 early in 2008, with attorneys with offices in eight cities in the United States, England and China. By the time of its decision to dissolve in late October 2008, it had shrunk to 400 attorneys through layoffs and attrition. Thelen was known for its preeminent construction practice which dates back to the 1930s and the local association between the law firm and contractors and developers of large hydroelectric dam projects. The construction practice offered regulatory, transactional and dispute resolution support. It was also known for its energy expertise, particularly in the electricity regulatory area, as well as for legal advice concerning technology and outsourcing.

Lord Day & Lord was a large American blue-chip law firm in New York City. It was established in 1845 by Daniel Lord, his son Daniel DeForest Lord, and his son-in-law Henry Day.

Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, also known as Finley, Kumble, was a United States law firm founded in 1968. The firm, based in New York, had grown from eight lawyers at its inception to over 700 lawyers at the time of its bankruptcy and dissolution in 1987. At the time it dissolved, Finley, Kumble was the fourth largest law firm in the United States, and at its peak was the country's second largest firm, behind only the international firm Baker & McKenzie.

Altheimer & Gray was a Chicago-based law firm, which operated from 1914 to 2003.

Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker,, is a law firm with over 1,000 attorneys in 44 offices throughout the United States and one in London.

Randolph Brant Martine was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House</span>

The Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House is a 48,000-square-foot mansion located in Buffalo, New York, which was built between 1915 and 1918. The house was designed by architect C. P. H. Gilbert for Grace Millard Knox, widow of Seymour H. Knox. The building is a contributing property to the Delaware Avenue Historic District designated in 1974.

Edward Wingate Hatch was an American lawyer and judge from New York.

References

  1. ↑ Cichon, Steve. "Torn-Down Tuesday: Cellino & Barnes' media empire". The Buffalo News. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kutner, Jeremy. "Injured? Bruised egos, gobs of money, and the bitter feud that took down Cellino & Barnes, New York's absurdly ubiquitous accident law firm". New York Magazine. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  3. ↑ Fink, James. "Cellino & Barnes going coast-to-coast". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ Erie County Court. "Memorandum of Law in Support of Respondents' Motion to Dismiss the Petition" (PDF). Reuters. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  5. ↑ Rahmanan, Anna. "A play about the infamous Cellino and Barnes is premiering Off Broadway". Time Out New York. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Loudon, Bennett (June 17, 2020). "Cellino and Barnes finalizing their split". Rochester Business Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  7. ↑ Zremski, Jerry; Besecker, Aaron. "Prominent lawyer Steve Barnes and niece killed in Genesee County plane crash". The Buffalo News . Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ Kim, Juliana (October 3, 2020). "Steve Barnes, of Cellino & Barnes Law Firm, Dies in Plane Crash". The New York Times . Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  9. ↑ Roberts, Sam (October 8, 2020). "Steve Barnes, Partner in Law Firm With Cellino, Dies at 61". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 19, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.